Hope Again
by arienettes
Summary: After Cooper ships Blaine off to boarding school, his new glee club keeps failing him in order to keep him winning Nationals for them. What will happen when Kurt, struggling in New York, returns to Ohio to teach at Blaine's school, unaware? Klaine.
1. Homecoming

**Hi there. I've had this idea for some time now and I finally decided to get it onto paper. Drop me a review to tell me what you think, I would really appreciate your feedback.**

Millions of tiny miracles happen every day.

Whether it be finding a five dollar note on the sidewalk, or meeting someone you haven't seen for years unexpectedly. They happen all the time, everywhere. Some people notice them, but most don't think of them as miracles. They barely even notice them, too wrapped up in their own misery to appreciate the tiny, 'insignificant' things that really aren't so tiny after all. These are the things that can brighten up a whole person's world, or turn their lives upside down.

This is what Kurt Hummel was thinking the day he met Chandler in a coffee shop off Broadway during his first year at NYADA.

And it is a thought that lingered on his mind every day since, when he came home to find his boyfriend, and more recently, fiancee, waiting for him.

Chandler was, in himself, a miracle. At least for Kurt - he not only had the power to make Kurt feel wonderful about himself and his life, but he could brighten up someone's day with just one look or small remark. Or a smile. God, Kurt loved his smile.

Kurt was often reminiscent of his relationship with Chandler, because it had started as a kind of... thrill during high school, that had lead to something that was so much more. Kurt could remember it vividly - meeting for the first time, the flirtatious texting.. And then, when he had fallen out with his boyfriend at the time, he had relied on Chandler to help him through it.

One thing led to another, and... Here they were. Engaged. It was a rare moment when Kurt could evaluate his life and feel good about it, but thanks to Chandler, he could say with complete certainty that he was happy.

Kurt smiled to himself as he walked home from his final day working at the shop where he had been slaving away part-time while struggling to find openings in Broadway shows. He was somewhat envious of Rachel's success in rising to the top. It had happened incredibly fast, not that he would have seen otherwise, I mean it was Berry after all, but... He couldn't quell the pang of jealousy that rose within him every time he thought about it.

Which was why Kurt had decided to get out.

Not forever, definitely not - he loved New York far too much to ever leave for good. It was his home, and Chandler had his job here, but Kurt needed a break. And he was really missing his family, which was why he made the decision to leave and go back to Ohio.

Luckily for Kurt, he had secured a teaching post at a particularly good boarding school for boys... It reminded him so much of Dalton that he couldn't resist it's charm. But he would deny that if you ever asked him.

Kurt had always known that he wanted to go into teaching eventually, and this post had become available, so he thought, why not? He had taught at a small school as an assistant in order to gain some experience, and the qualifications were pretty easy to get when he put his mind to it. But probably mainly due to his incredible talent and charm, he got the job.

He felt a certain sense of loss as he hopped on a downtown subway, bag over one shoulder, heading home for his last night in a long time. It wasn't going to be easy being away from Chandler for such a long time, but he knew that he could come back to New York any time he wanted, and this was comforting to him.

Within minutes, he was walking down 24th Street towards his apartment. That was the best thing about New York - it was fast. You didn't have time to stop and think. Or hesitate.

'You're home early,' Kurt's fiancee bounded towards him, plate in one hand, pan in the other, reaching in to kiss Kurt lightly.

'What are you making?' Kurt said, surprised by the cooking. Chandler usually only cooked on special occasions, birthdays, and those random spontaneous nights when he decided to do something crazy.

'Breakfast,' he said brightly, moving back towards the kitchen, pans clattering and pancakes sizzling.

'I just got home from work, Chandler! It's...' I checked my watch, laughing breathlessly. 'Nearly six.'

'So what? I like breakfast, you like breakfast, so why not? And also,' he added, grinning over at Kurt. 'Tonight is special for us.'

Kurt tried to smile - the corners of his lips went up, but his eyes remained sad and cold.

Chandler noticed, of course - he didn't miss a thing about his fiancee. That's what Kurt loved so much about him; he always knew.

'Babe, whats up?' He walked over to him and stroked his cheek lightly with his finger.

'Nothing...' Kurt hesitated. 'It's just...'

Chandler waited patiently, the sound of the pancakes sizzling in the background.

'Those pancakes will burn if you're not careful,' said Kurt, trying to change the tone of the conversation.

'Kurt,' Chandler said sternly. Kurt melted under his gaze.

'I'm not ready to leave you yet,' he blurted out. 'I don't want to. I want to go back, but I love you, Chandler, and I'm just worried what will happen with so much distance between us.'

Chandler leaned in and kissed Kurt passionately.

'Nothing,' he said firmly. 'And I mean nothing, will change. I love you so much, and no amount of miles can make that go away. I promise you, okay? It's going to be alright. And you'll come home as much as you can, won't you?'

'Of course I will,' Kurt breathed.

'Exactly.' Chandler grinned and brushed his fiancee's nose with his finger, before turning back to the pancakes. 'These are ready. You'd better be hungry because I've made way too many.'

Kurt smiled shyly, and moved over towards his fiancee to help him.

It was going to be okay.

The night passed in a blur. Kurt and Chandler experienced something they had dubbed 'goodbye sex'. It was emotional, wonderful, but also very, very painful. After, Kurt lay awake for several hours, watching his fiancee sleeping and remembering a night when something very similar had happened.

It had ended badly then, too.

But he pushed those thoughts from his mind, because he had promised himself never to mention that boy's name again. Not even in his mind.

The next morning, he dressed in a pained haze, and it was like deja vu, although he would never admit that. He had done this entire journey once before, and it scared him.

_It's going to be okay, _said the same, smaller than before voice. But he barely even heard it over the blaring warning signals going off in his head over, and over, and over. Everything was going to go wrong, Kurt could feel it. Everything.

But with a brush of his lips to his future husband's, he left. He didn't notice what was happening until he was sitting on a plane with air hostesses surrounding him, asking him what meal he would like for the flight.

'Oh, uhm, chicken,' he said dazily. 'Thanks.'

The rest of the journey passed in the same way. He barely even remembered exiting the plane and climbing down the steps. He space-walked through customs, feeling like an alien amongst men.

Kurt barely noticed anything until he left the airport, and saw his dad's car parked outside. His heart leapt so violently that he had to grasp his chest for a few seconds before he was running over to the car, just as his Dad got out.

The embrace was one of childhood - of sweet, sweet memories, of laughter, of good times. Kurt inhaled the musky smell of his father and felt at peace in his mind.

The journey to his house passed in silence; but not an awkward silence. The kind of silence that says everything without words.

Finally, Burt spoke.

'How's Chandler these days?'

Kurt looked at him, grinning. Burt hadn't been exactly... _fond_ of Chandler at first, mostly because he came between Kurt and someone else who Burt was very fond of. But eventually Kurt's dad had given in, and accepted Chandler into part of the family, basically.

'He's good, Dad.'

'Working hard? What is it he does again?'

Kurt laughed. 'Dad, you're so..'

'So what?' He said, grinning at his son. 'So what, huh?'

'So... Judgemental.' They both laughed at the irony of this.

'I'm just interested, Kurt, that's all there is to it.'

Kurt rolled his eyes.

'He's got his own recording company, Dad.'

'Uh huh... And does he do a lot of, you know, recording?'

'He basically pays for both our rent,' Kurt said, grinning because he knew his dad was only playing.

Burt nodded, laughing softly.

It felt easy, this; riding along in the car with his dad, heading home to see Carole. Just like high school.

When they got to the house, Kurt embraced Carole with love and appreciation before bouncing - somewhat childishly - up to his old room, the place where he had slept for most of his teenage years.

'Wow,' he whispered breathlessly, looking around. Nothing had changed. Absolutely nothing.

He sat down on the edge of the bed - his bed - precariously, feeling a little out of place. He was sure he would be too big for the bed now. He had grown a lot over the last three years. It was almost like the person who had slept in this bed, and the person who he now was, were totally different. Almost like he had swapped lives with someone along the way.

But Kurt's heart leapt at the thought of being back here and reliving those childish days. Everything had been easy here, and it felt more like home than New York ever would.

_If only Chandler was here, _he thought sadly, _then it would be perfect._

But another part of him disagreed with this statement - Chandler was part of his new life, not his old one. The two should never mix. Almost as if it could ruin the memories of the past, blemish them with new ones.

And then, for the first time in two years, the presence of the bed made Kurt's line of thought turn to something completely different.

This was the bed.

_The _bed.

He ran his fingers along the sheets tentatively, almost as if the memory of that night could be ruined by one too-heavy touch of the fingertips. It was the most precious, sacred memory of Kurt's life, and one he would never forget, no matter how long he avoided the thought or put it off. It was always there, buried deeply but never forgotten.

And then Blaine was in Kurt's head, and he sat and relived all the memories with painful relish for several minutes. He thought of the good times, their first kiss, the coffee shop where they spent so many days... And the bad times, too. The first accusation of cheating. The break ups, the make ups. The day Kurt left for New York. The _actual _cheating. The pain overtook Kurt's body as he sat there, remembering, almost as if he had gone back in time and was doing it all again, making all the same mistakes.

'Kurt? We've made dinner for you, get down here!' The shout of his dad woke him from his nightmare.

'Coming dad,' his voice was shaky, but he held back the tsunami of tears that threatened to suffocate him, and walked softly to the door.

He took a look back as he reached it, pausing to relish the memory for a second longer, before turning and walking away, his mind lingering on the memory of a life he had so hoped he had abandoned.

Miracles happen every day. This was not one of them.

For Kurt Hummel, though, the real miracles were just about to start.


	2. New Beginnings

Sleeping in his old bed was extremely strange for Kurt. For some reason, all he could think of was Blaine lying next to him, head on his chest, waking each other with kisses.

At one point he actually thought he could smell him.

His phone buzzed at 3am, and he was relieved to see Chandler's name lighting up the darkness of the room, the way he lighted up Kurt's life.

'Thank God you called,' Kurt answered. Hello's weren't necessary. 'It's so weird being back here, my head's doing weird things.'

'I'm missing you loads, baby,' Chandler answered, a hint of sadness in his voice.

'You too,' said Kurt. But he felt somewhat guilty - until this moment, he had been too wrapped up in thinking about Blaine to miss his fiancee... Kurt made a silent promise to himself to put all thoughts of the dark-haired boy from his mind from now on.

'So how's being back in Ohio? Must be weird.'

'It's insane,' he replied. 'It's awesome, too. But insane.'

'You start work tomorrow?'

'Nope, the day after. But I go for a kind of open day tomorrow to get to know the staff.'

'Good luck.'

'I wish you were here,' Kurt blurted out, unthinking. 'I really wish you were.'

'I wish I was, too,' Chandler replied, and Kurt could have sworn he heard his voice crack. 'When are you coming home?'

'As soon as I can. I promise.'

'I love you.'

'Yeah, you too.'

Kurt pulled the phone from his ear and hung up as fast as he could. It hurt, knowing how long it would be until he saw Chandler again.

Especially because his mind was already wandering places he didn't want it to go... Places he had promised himself he would never go again.

Making a mental block against all unwanted thoughts, Kurt lay back in his bed and forced his eyes shut. What was even the point of thinking about that stuff? He had no idea where that boy would be in his life now - they hadn't talked for over two years, so what did it matter? It's not like Blaine was still stuck in Ohio. He would be long gone by now.

Kurt awoke the next day with a splitting headache.

_Jeez, why didn't I try harder to sleep last night? _he thought, forcing himself out of bed and stumbling downstairs, hair messy around his face.

'Morning Kurt,' Carole smiled from the kitchen. She walked over him and kissed his forehead affectionately, before leaning back a little, as if to get a better look.

'Your hair needs cut,' she observed. 'Desperately, actually.'

He tried to flatten it with his palms, but she only laughed at him.

'Oh, hey Kurt,' called Burt from the table. 'Sleep okay?'

'Yeah,' Kurt lied smoothly. 'Totally fine.'

'Weird being back here?' Wow, thought Kurt, he knows me too well.

'A little,' he admitted. 'But I can adjust pretty fast.'

'You got your open day type thing today? I was hoping we could spend the night in, get a take out or something. Would be good to catch up properly.'

He smiled. 'Yeah, Dad. That would be great.'

He grabbed some toast and tried to head back upstairs, but Carole stopped him.

'Uh, Kurt, you can't just take that up to your room.'

He gave her a confused look, mouth already full of toast. 'What, why?'

She sighed, and Kurt heard the half-exasperated half-amused tone to her voice. 'Well, at least take a plate. You're not an animal.'

He grabbed a plate, somewhat reluctantly, and headed back to his room.

Kurt opened his suitcase and let the contents spill out across the floor. Precariously, he filed through the shirts, suits, and ties, looking for something suitable for the day ahead.

Finally he found a boring, black suit that looked suitable enough, and he put it on as fast as he could, because he knew he had slept in past the time he really should have.

Hurriedly, he sped down the stairs and embraced his father briefly before walking to the door. 'Bye Dad. Carole.'

'Good luck,' they chanted. I smiled and left.

The first time I heard his voice, I didn't recognise it. I heard some angry student and a teacher in a classroom down the hall, but I barely hear it and I don't see the source of the voice behind closed doors.

'Who's that, then?' I ask, with some curiosity.

My guide - a young female teacher with golden eyes - rolled her eyes at the classroom where the noise was coming from. 'There's this kid in the senior class.'

I raise an eyebrow. 'Go on..'

'Well, you'll be teaching him, that's for sure. You're the new drama teacher, after all. He's pretty good at... drama.'

'You mean he's melodramatic.'

She gave me a look. 'You can't blame the guy. Didn't graduate when he was supposed to, you know. This school has held him back for the last three years.'

I stare at her. 'What? Are you serious? So he's, what, twenty?'

She nods curtly.

'But... why? Is he just... not bright?'

She laughs bitterly. 'Oh, no. You'll find out pretty soon that this school values itself highly on its continuous three-year in a row championship at Nationals for showchoirs.'

I nod. 'Yeah, I know that. Kind of why I applied here.'

'So, this guy, he's like, the star of the club. The teachers are literally failing him on purpose to keep him here.'

'Are you kidding?' I said, not sure whether to laugh or not.

She shook her head. 'Deadly serious. Got the idea from another Glee Club... Vocal Adrenaline, or something? I dunno. But anyway, it's working, the boy's a genius.'

Kurt looked back down the hallway, becoming more and more curious. He definitely wanted to find out more about this Glee Club.

The rest of his day passed somewhat boringly, Kurt went to his classroom, set out his things, met the other members of staff, but the whole time his mind was elsewhere. He couldn't stop thinking about the boy in the hallway. Subconciously, Kurt was already beginning to form a plan on how to convince them to let him graduate.

'Hey, Mr. Hummel? You're the new drama teacher, right?'

A stocky, balding man made his way towards Kurt, smoothing down his small amount of hair with the palm of his hands.

'Please, call me Kurt,' said Kurt, smiling at him pleasantly.

'Nice to meet ya, Kurt, I'm Shane, but the students know me as Mr. Brown.'

Kurt shook his sweaty hand, smiling as widely as he could stretch his cheeks.

'I meant to talk to you sooner or later, Kurt, because I don't know if you know but I'm the director of the showchoir here.'

This immediately sparked his interest, and he nodded vigourously.

'I heard you've been on broadway shows, studied at NYADA, am I right?'

Kurt nodded again. 'Yeah, only left last year.'

'Well, I knew you'd want to get involved with this club. So, here's a little proposition for ya. Why don't you come along to our meeting tomorrow after school?'

Kurt's eyes widened, shocked at how quickly the oppurtunity had come.

'I know it's pretty fast,' Shane said, 'but these kids need some serious motivation this year. Last year, we were forced to let some of our biggest stars go, and the new kids just aren't up to the task. They need training, inspiration, and I honestly can't think of any better man for the job.'

Kurt smiled. 'I would love to.'

'Great,' Shane smiled. 'It starts at four in the choir room. You want me to show you it now?'

He gestured out of the staff room door, and Kurt nodded. 'Sure, let's take a look.'

They walked down the hall, side by side, making aimless conversation. Kurt couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement at going back to a choir room... It wasn't quite Mckinley, but it was still going to be the starting point for so many young students, just like himself. And maybe, just maybe, he could become a part of that world again.

'Well, this is it.'

It was about double the size of the Mckinley choir room. Decorated with sparkling trophies, a beautiful piano, and an expensive looking drum kit in the corner, Kurt couldn't have felt more out of place.

Shane seemed to notice his shock. 'Oh, don't worry, it's not always so... expensive-looking... Just wait until the kids get in here, it'll dumb it right now.'

Kurt grinned at him, walking into the room a little nervously.

'It's nice,' he said, his voice slightly higher than usual. 'Real nice. The kids are really lucky.'

'Yeah,' Shane agreed. 'They are. They have a real good time in here, even though the competition's tough, but they will literally stop at nothing until they win.'

'And...,' Kurt hesitated, wondering whether he should ask, but valiantly ploughing on, '...I heard some rumours about one boy.'

Shane looked round at Kurt. 'Rumours?'

'Rumours about his... age.'

'Oh, that,' Shane shook it off. 'You gotta understand how big a deal this showchoir business is. Our school is practically running on the money we've been bringing in from it. And, well, the boy's a star. He'll go far, when he eventually gets out of here.'

'I... don't know if that's -'

'Fair?,' Shane laughed bitterly. 'The kid doesn't even care. He's been agreeing to it for years. We fail him, he stays here where he feels safe and he's okay with that. It's crazy, but hey, the guy has no common sense whatsoever.'

I shrugged, not wanting to get into a full-blown argument, especially with the guy who had just offered me to come and sit in his glee club and get a feel for it.

'I guess that's okay then,' I lied smoothly.

We left a few minutes later, and the rest of the afternoon passed uneventfully. Kurt got home and practically fell into bed, exhausted after only one day.

He couldn't stop his mind from wandering to the adult in the school, trapped in his senior year at high school, unable to escape, unaware how wonderful life can be after you've got out. He couldn't help but feel excited for the next day, when he would finally meet the infamous boy, or man, or whatever he was.

The excitement rose into his chest as he fell asleep, the all-too familiar bed sheets wrapped tightly around his body.

**Sorry about the lack of drama in this chapter, I guess it was a bit of a filler. The real excitement starts in Chapter 3. Thanks for reviewing/favouriting, special thank you to Mairi for being perfect. To clarify, this story is T rated for now, but it may go up to M depending on which direction I take it, and whatever I'm comfortable with. **


	3. Revelations

Kurt was into first period before he was even aware it was happening.

'Hi, guys,' he started nervously, as a class of bored-looking sophomores piled into the classroom, some putting their heads in their hands. 'I'm Mr Hummel and I'm your new drama teacher.'

'Why are we in a classroom and not the drama studio?,' asked a rugged looking boy in the front row.

'Well, today isn't a practical lesson. I figured we could do some icebreakers, you know..'

The kids groaned and rolled their eyes.

'Ugh, I hate this freaking school uniform,' voiced a girl from the back, picking at her loose, unfitting school sweater with disgust.

'Hey, watch your language,' Kurt said, trying to be firm.

'I said freaking,' she rolled her eyes. 'That's not even a bad word.'

'It is in my class,' he said. He could feel all their eyes on him. Judging.

Nervously, Kurt patted down the front of his waistcoat.

'Let's start with you, over here. Just tell us your name and, uh, an interesting fact about you.'

The kid looked apprehensive, but he rolled his eyes and spoke.

'I'm James. Drama is my least favorite subject.'

He sat down heavily, and Kurt gulped. 'Well, James, I'm sure I can help change that. How about you?' He pointed to the only person in the room who looked vaguely interested - a young boy wearing a waistcoat somewhat similar to Kurt's.

The boy gulped, and Kurt could tell he was extremely shy. 'I...I'm Sam,' he stuttered.

There was some laughing amongst the class, especially amongst the boys. Kurt glared at them.

'Hi Sam,' Kurt said, deciding not to push him for an interesting fact. He looked like he was about to pass out, anyway.

The rest of the class gave their less-than-interesting facts in turn, and Kurt soon learned that none of them apart from, possibly, Sam, seemed to care about drama in the slightest.

The rest of the day passed in a blur - all Kurt could really think about was Glee Club at the end of the day, almost like he was back in high school again.

When the end of the day finally came, he practically skipped his way to the choir room, sitting down in a far corner, waiting for the students to arrive.

There was a definite sense of excitement. He knew he'd be able to spot the Quinn Fabrays, the Rachel Berrys, and most importantly, the Kurt Hummels among the group, and he waited with baited breath as the students poured in, one by one.

It wasn't as easy as he had hoped, unfortunately. Their image didn't give away too much, and they all looked extremely young - probably mostly sophomores or younger, and then -

He blinked.

And he blinked again.

And again.

But the person standing in front of him didn't disappear back into the realms of fantasy where he belonged, he stood, clear as day, like a statue with his mouth hanging open.

He was not the Blaine Anderson that Kurt had dated all those years ago.

His curls fell loosely into his dark eyes, and his clothing - a black leather jacket and dark brown jeans - were the last thing Kurt would have expected. His bag fell over his shoulder and he looked worn out and dissheveled.

And he looked better than he ever had.

'Alright everybody, welcome to the first glee club of this term! Good to see the old faces back, and some new ones I see, here to audition are you? Great, let's get started then - Blaine, why are you standing in the door like you've been paralysed, sit down, will you?'

Blaine didn't move. Kurt didn't move, either.

The whole class seemed to be holding their breath.

'Blaine -'

'It's fine, Mr Brown,' said Blaine, but his eyes never left Kurt's face. 'I think I should take this practice off.'

Tearing his eyes away from my face, he headed for the door, but Mr Brown stopped him.

'Uh, no you don't, Blaine, you gotta perform the number we were practicing yesterday.'

'But I can't be here,' he said firmly, glancing back at Kurt.

Kurt's heart was smashing against his ribcage so hard he feared it might just break through. Blaine Anderson, here? In this school? He was the guy who they were failing? But how did he... End up here?

Questions flooded his mind, and he gulped, eyes never leaving Blaine's face, which was fixated on Kurt again.

'I'm sorry, do you two... know each other, or something?'

Kurt opened my mouth to speak, although he didn't know exactly what he was going to say, but Blaine spoke before he'd even opened my mouth.

'No. We don't.'

With that, he moved over to the very opposite corner of the room and sat down, his eyes unspeaking, unseeing. Stony and ice cold.

Kurt tried not to look at him, but faced Mr Brown, although his mind was swimming with worries, questions, answers and a bunch of dug-up feelings he didn't even know he contained.

Mr Brown was talking, but Kurt barely heard what he was saying over his own racing heart and pounding head.

What had happened to Blaine Anderson after they had ended things?

'Well, Blaine, this is your chance to shine.'

Kurt glanced nervously over at Blaine - he still couldn't believe it was actually him - and he stood up, his expression giving away none of the inner turmoil that Kurt knew he was going through.

'I'm going to perform Paradise by Coldplay for you guys.'

He gestured to the band which started playing, and a couple of the guys from the club stood up and stood behind him, providing the back up singing.

_When she was just a girl_

_She expected the world_

_But it flew away from her reach so_

_She ran away in her sleep_

_and dreamed of_

_Para-para-paradise, Para-para-paradise, Para-para-paradise_

_Every time she closed her eyes_

God, Kurt had missed that perfect voice. His confidence was still there - he could see how much Blaine was enjoying himself. It was in his eyes, the way it had always been. But there was a coldness there, too, which had never been there before.

_Life goes on, it gets so heavy_

_The wheel breaks the butterfly_

_Every tear a waterfall_

_In the night the stormy night she'll close her eyes_

_In the night the stormy night away she'd fly_

He walked to the piano and pushed the pianist aside, taking over swiftly, giving the group a radiant smile, but Kurt could see the coldness in his expression.

_and dreams of_

_Para-para-paradise_

_Para-para-paradise_

_Para-para-paradise_

He jumped up, walking across to the group and circling each of their chairs individually - of course missing mine - smiling at them, acting it up, in that Blaine kind of way.

He was Blaine, and yet he wasn't.

_She'd dream of_

_Para-para-paradise_

_Para-para-paradise_

_Para-para-paradise_

_And so lying underneath those stormy skies_

_She'd say, "oh, I know the sun must set to rise"_

_This could be_

_Para-para-paradise_

_Para-para-paradise_

_Para-para-paradise_

_Oh oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh_

_This could be_

_Para-para-paradise_

_Para-para-paradise_

_This could be_

_Para-para-paradise_

_Oh oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh-oh_

Before the instrumentals had even finished playing, Blaine had walked over to his bag, grabbed it, and walked to the door, smashing it shut as hard as he could behind him.

Mr. Brown just rolled his eyes, as if this kind of behaviour happened all the time.

I quickly raised my hand. 'I'll go after him.'

'Not any point, you won't -'

'No it's okay,' Kurt said, jumping up. 'I'll be back soon.'

Kurt had literally never ran so fast in his entire life. He couldn't even see the corridor ahead of him, his brain was spinning and he felt slightly sick, but he kept running, looking down every corridor, into every classroom, as he went.

He burst out the front gates, hair falling around his face messily, to see Blaine getting into his car on the other side of the parking lot.

'Blaine!' He let out a yell that he followed up by jumping down the steps towards Blaine's car, tripping over his own feet, arms flying.

'Stop!,' Kurt yelled, as Blaine saw him, started the engine, and began to reverse as fast as he could.

There was nothing more Kurt could do, except watch as Blaine turned swiftly in his car, and sped away without even glancing at Kurt, who stood broken in the empty parking lot, the dust swirling around him as he panted for breath.

He could feel tears stinging the backs of his eyes now.

Hands in his hair, he turned, and walked slowly, numbly, back into the school.

**So, Blaine's still in school. Please drop me a review to tell me what you've thought so far, I really appreciate and take into account all the feedback that I get. Thanks so much if you've reviewed/favorited already.**


	4. Temporary Feelings

Kurt didn't see Blaine the day after the first glee club meeting.

He didn't see him the day after that, either.

Or the day after that.

In fact, it was a week before Blaine reappeared at school, to Kurt's dismay. He had tried everything - quizzing the teachers on where he lives, calling his old house number (Kurt wasn't totally sure why he still had this, but he had never quite been able to let it go), but there had been no answer.

So he just waited. And waited. And waited.

When Kurt spotted him in the lunch queue the day after, taller and more mature-looking than everyone else in the room, he almost called out to him, but refrained himself.

He hadn't really noticed the huge change in Blaine on the first day he had seen him - he had been too busy just shocked at the fact that Blaine Anderson was there - but now he really got a good look at him.

His hair was so much longer than it had been, and his curls fell sloppily into his eyes. He had finally abandoned the hair gel, seemingly. He was wearing his black leather jacket again, and black army boots too. Stubble specked his jawline, effectively making him look more like a teacher than a student.

Kurt also noticed he had a constant dark, guarded look on his face as he sat down on a table on his own.

_I can't believe it's him, _thought Kurt, _watching him pick at his lunch coolly._

Shane, sitting beside Kurt, followed his line of view and saw Blaine at the other end. Hurriedly, Kurt looked away, but it was too late.

'That boy's trouble.' It was a general observation, but Kurt swore he could hear a warning underneath it. 'Hasn't been at school since the first day. Probably some screwed-up stuff going on with him again.'

'I don't get it,' Kurt said. 'What's wrong with him?'

Shane laughed darkly. 'He's too old to be here. That can fuck a guy up real bad. Not to mention the fact his dad died a couple years back.'

Kurt's eyes widened in shock. 'What? His dad... Dead?'

Shane nodded gravely. 'That's why he came here. His older brother wasn't really keen on looking after him, screwed with his career or something... So he sent him off to boarding school.'

Blaine's dad was dead. Kurt sat in silence as this news hit him. He couldn't even believe all the stuff that had happened - and where had Kurt been? In New York, with Chandler.

_I should have checked on him, _he thought painfully. _We might not have been in love anymore, but I should have at least made sure he was alright. I should have been there._

'Glee club practise tonight, anyway,' said Shane. 'Fancy coming along again? Thanks to Badass Blaine you didn't get a chance to perform for us last week.'

'Yeah,' Kurt said, smiling. 'I'm up for that.'

'Great,' said Shane, going back to his lunch. Kurt's eyes were immediately back on Blaine. He needed to talk to him, he knew that now.

Luckily for Kurt, his oppurtunity came way before Glee Club.

He had a free period last thing, and so he was making his way to the staff room when he heard shouting from a corridor further down, and suddenly saw Blaine burst from the room, disappearing round the corner. Kurt heard the sound of hurried footsteps as he ran up some stairs.

Without a second's hesitation, Kurt followed him, sprinting up the narrow staircase. He had never been up here before, and so he hesitated when he reached the top and realised that he was on the roof - the door which had just banged shut, led outside.

'Blaine,' he whispered, holding his breath as he opened the door.

And there he sat - on the very edge of the building, feet dangling off the side, leaning back on one arm as the wind whipped his hair around his matured face.

Kurt walked towards him, his heart beating so fast he thought he might actually crack a rib.

He hesitated when he reached Blaine, but with all the courage he could muster, he sat down beside the boy.

He didn't look at Blaine - just looked out onto the surrounding scenery. The school really was in the middle of nowhere. There was no escape from this place.

Blaine suddenly noticed him, his head whipping round in shock.

And then there was laughter. It was a soft, bitter sound and Kurt finally looked over at Blaine, who's head was thrown back, his eyes shut as if holding back the pain.

'Hello, Mr. Hummel,' he said, his dark hair whipping around his cheeks.

'Blaine,' Kurt replied, trying to keep his voice steady.

They sat in silence for a few moments, looking out on the trees and fields surrounding them. Then Blaine reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette and a lighter.

'Blaine!,' Kurt said, slightly shocked. 'You can't... You can't smoke on school grounds.'

'What are you gonna do about it?' His voice was totally calm. 'Give me detention?'

I narrowed my eyes. 'What's happened to you?'

He laughed again. 'Oh right,' he said, 'Now you care. It's only been three years, Kurt. Really, thank you so much.'

He lit his cigarette and inhaled deeply. Kurt didn't try to stop him this time.

'Blaine, I'm so -'

'Save it,' he said, actual pain flashing across his features for a moment. 'Please don't give me the bullshit, Kurt, I thought I was finally done with you and then you just turn up here.'

'I got a job here,' Kurt said defensively, 'I was hardly going to turn that down.'

'Right,' Blaine said sarcastically. 'I'm not stupid. You're just trying to relive your high school days. I know you, Kurt - sorry, _Mr Hummel.'_

His emphasis on 'Mr Hummel' was so bitter that Kurt felt the pain of it hit his chest. 'You... Don't have to call me that.'

'I think I do, actually,' Blaine said.

'Well, you're wrong, anyway,' Kurt said defiantly. 'I'm not trying to relive my high school days.'

Blaine snorted. 'Pfft, yes you are. And hey,' he added, throwing his hands into the air with mimicking excitement. 'Thank God I'm here to help, right?'

'How did this happen?'

Blaine went silent, taking a gulp of the cold air.

'Seriously, Blaine,' Kurt said, 'I want to know what happened to you... With your... dad, and...'

'He died,' Blaine said bluntly.

'No, but...'

'Listen, it's not really something I want to discuss, Kurt.'

I noticed that he was shivering - he'd left his jacket in the school building, seemingly.

'Here,' I said, shrugging off my coat and wrapping it around his shoulders. He just looked at me apprehensively.

'I miss you,' he said suddenly.

I smiled at him, sadly. 'I'm engaged, Blaine.'

He looked back out at the landscape, taking a deep drag on his cigarette. 'To Chandler?'

I exhaled, almost wanting to screw my eyes shut. Chandler's name didn't fit against Blaine's lips. 'Yes.'

He looked back at me, right into my eyes. 'I'm happy for you.'

'No you aren't -'

'No, I really am, Kurt. It's great that you're moving on with your life. Really. And one day, that'll be me.'

'Blaine, I can't let them keep you here, stuck here like it's a prison -'

'I don't have a choice, don't you get that?' There was anger in his voice now. 'I'm stuck here. I don't know how many more years they can squeeze out of me but it could be... a lot.'

'Can't I do something? I hate the idea of you being stuck here all this time, while I was -'

'Off with Chandler in New York,' said Blaine bitterly.

'I am so, so sorry.' And he meant it.

'It's not your fault,' Blaine replied, and there was sincerity in his voice. 'Really, it would have happened whether you were there or not.'

'But I could have been there,' Kurt said. 'I could have helped you through this. And I wasn't.'

'Yeah, well, I was hardly innocent myself.'

This was true. Kurt's first year at NYADA was when everything had fallen apart. Blaine had started being more and more distant with Kurt, and Kurt needed someone - anyone - and there was Chandler, all of a sudden, in New York with him. And he fell for him faster than he could have ever expected.

Once Blaine found out about Kurt and Chandler - although they hadn't even done anything apart from flirtatious texting - well, he got more angry than Kurt had ever seen him. He started screwing around, with guys, girls... everyone. He made sure it got back to Kurt, too. The rest of that year, Kurt was being punished for a crime he hadn't commited - yet.

Because once Kurt had found out about Blaine, that was the end of it, and he advanced on Chandler as fast as he could. When it started, the cheating left Kurt feeling satisfied for a few days, but then the empty feeling would return to his stomach... The empty feeling that he knew could only be filled by Blaine's presence.

'Yeah,' Kurt spoke finally. 'It wasn't anyone's fault. We just fell apart, didn't we?'

Blaine nodded, a grim smile on his face.

'Blaine,' Kurt said, reaching for his hand. Blaine actually jumped at the touch as if burned, and Kurt retreated his hand nervously. 'I'm here now, okay? I might be engaged to Chandler, and I might be your teacher, but maybe we can restart our friendship... I really want to help you, Blaine.'

Kurt saw the panic flash across Blaine's face - and the pain at the word 'friendship'.

But he pulled through it.

'Yeah,' said Blaine bravely. 'Friends. I'd like that.'

'Come on,' Kurt said, checking his cell phone. 'It's nearly time for Glee, we don't wanna be late. God, this feels just like old times...'

He stood up, reaching out his hand to pull Blaine up, but Blaine simply gave him a look and pushed himself up.

He was bigger now. And so much stronger than he had ever been.

And as Kurt and Blaine walked to the choir room together, all thoughts of Chandler were gone from his mind - the simple presence of Blaine Anderson seemed to obliterate everything else in the world.

If that feeling was more than temporary, things might have been different.

**A/N: Sulky, baddass Blaine is the best Blaine, right? Agreed. Hope you enjoyed, and remember that the more reviews I get then the faster I will update. Thank you.**


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